Carl W. Kenney II is an award winning columnist and novelist. He is committed to engaging readers into a meaningful discussion related to matters that impact faith and society. He grapples with pondering the impact faith has on public space while seeking to understand how public space both hinders and enhances the walk of faith.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

In search of the North Star: Looking for a place to call home

It may be un-American to consider running in the direction
of the North Star to a land on the other side of the border. But, why not? As
long as a wall hasn’t been built keeping disgruntled Americans out of Canada,
why not consider life on the other side of American white privilege?

Running away from death and an unequal standard of living
isn’t new for black people living in America. For as far back as we can trace
history away from Africa, black people have grappled to find a safe place to
plant seeds for the future. We know the stories of trips along the “Underground
Railroad” and the numerous “Slave Rebellions” led by men and women who were
sick and tired of lashes on their backs.

Black people ran North before and after two world wars
because of the common sight of lynching’s and burning crosses. It happened due
to black people fighting for their fair share of that American Dream. Running
away from death and subjugation is part of the American saga that adds to the divide
between Martin Luther King, Jr’s dream and Malcolm X’s nightmare.

Black people have endured being caught in the middle of
being nice and getting killed. For as long as most can remember, learning how
to address white people with guns and a badge is added to the curriculum of
elementary school education. The lessons of the post-slavery era prepared black
people for survival among people fuming because Mr. Lincoln said let those
people go.

Contending with the “what if” seemingly never vanishes. “What
if” the police stop you in the middle of the night? “What if” you find yourself
vulnerable because the person with the gun lacks the patience to hear the rest
of your story.

I hear grandma singing “I feel like running my last mile
home”.

The worst part of not running are the emotions that come
with staying. Those who don’t get “it” assume all is well among those stuck in
pondering the “what if”. People not forced to contemplate those questions
envision a world filled with the type of “milk and honey” promised long ago to
those lingering in the wilderness. Listening to them tell your story leads to the
conclusion the Promised Land was entered between 1970 and last week.

That’s hard to accept when running remains a viable option
for those tired of listening to commentary regarding how it’s all a figment of
the imagination.

I feel like running whenever a person calls me racist for
saying “Black Lives Matter” versus “All Lives Matter”. I feel like running
whenever a person questions my version of Christianity because I’m sick of
black folks having to forgive while white people continue to poke fun at my
interpretation of inclusion. I feel like
running whenever I watch a video of a black person taking a bullet. I want to
hide and scream after a white person tells me there’s no justifiable reason to
prosecute the police officer who pulled the trigger or pushed Freddie in the
back of a van.

I feel like running when being black is justification for
murder and the courts don’t care.

It’s mentally draining listening to others define your
reality.

Where can you run when stupid shows up everywhere you look?
Forest Gump told us “stupid is what stupid does,” and stupid shows up often in
America.

Doing stupid isn’t new, but a good part of the recent stupid
is targeted at black people. Maybe it’s because Obama is running the show.
Maybe it’s because black people refuse to continue to bow to the stupid
assumptions white people make. Or, maybe stupid has always been there to keep
eyes pointed in the direction of the North Star.

Stupid shows up in a variety of ways and places. Shucks,
some claim I’m the ambassador of stupidity due to my analysis of faith in
public space. I’ll own that. Maybe it takes stupid to know stupid. If that’s
true, most of us are caught in the web of doing stupid things.

We’re trapped with nowhere to go.

How far North can you run before it gets too cold to run
anymore?

Canada seems like a logical place to run if Trump wins the
election due to the stupid Republicans and Democrats intent on running the
show. Between the Republicans who want to make “America Great Again” and the
progressives who refuse to vote for Hilary, we’re just a few steps away from stupid
controlling the whole show.

None of this is new to black folks. It is mind-blowing that
it follows the election of the first black President. Like the release of the
Kracken in the “Clash of the Titans”, electing Obama was the can of whip ass
America needed to expose the deep-rooted stupidity they hid during the day.

Between the stupidity of “Bernie or Bust” and the cruelty of
“Build the wall, build the wall!” black and brown people are left glaring like
the emperor lost his clothes and thinks it’s a fashion statement. Well,
stupidity is not fashionable, it’s simply stupid.

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Carl W. Kenney II

Carl was named the best serious columnist of 2011 by the North Carolina Press Association for his work with the News & Observer's community paper The Durham News and in 2016 by the Missouri Press Association for his columns in the Columbia Missourian. He is a columnist with the News & Observer and Co-Executive Producer of "God of the Oppressed" an upcoming documentary film on black liberation theology. He is a former Adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri - School of Journalism and Adjunct Instructor at Duke University, the Center for Documentary Studies. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He furthered his education at Duke University and attained a Master of Divinity. He was named a Fellow in Pastoral Leadership Development at the Princeton Theological Seminary on May 14, 2005. He is a freelance writer with his commentary appearing in The Washington Post, Religious News Services,The Independent Weekly and The Durham Herald-Sun. Carl is the author of two novels: “Preacha’ Man” and the sequel “Backslide”.
He has led congregations in Missouri and North Carolina